Trans Gemder (Emerald's Journey)
by SSXLoverKaoriBrodiMac
Summary: Emerald (my OC) comes to Earth so she can be her true self. But she has a secret, that no one must know. Emerald doesn't even fully understand how she's feeling. Read on to find out more!
1. Chapter 1

Emerald came to Earth for one reason, to flee Homeworld and be a Crystal Gem. She'd heard the stories, and wanted to see for herself if they were true. You see, Emerald wasn't like the other gems, she didn't fit in. So she was willing to risk it all to possibly be her true self.

* * *

After arriving on Earth, Emerald didn't know where to go. She noticed a big building with...trash?...something sticking out of it. Emerald tugged on her army green crop top, worrying it wasn't covering up her top enough.

"Who goes there?" A Peridot popped out of the building.

"Um, why do you live in that building? I want to see the Crystal-"

"I'm the one asking the questions here. How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"Be-because…" Emerald shrugged, crossing her arms, looking down at the ground. "I don't belong in Homeworld. I'm different than everyone else." Taking a deep breath, Emerald put her arms by her sides and looked back at Peridot. "I thought the Crystal Gems would accept me for me. Of all people, I think you'd understand."

"Well I must say, you've made quite the compelling argument. The Crystal Gems and I have a hard time understanding each other sometimes, but we're working on it."

"Peridot, who are you talking to?" A Lapis Lazuli emerged from the building too. "You're an Emerald, right?"

Emerald bowed down to Peridot and Lapis. "Yes, I'm an Emerald. I just want to be safe from Homeworld and I'll do what you ask."

Lapis rolled her eyes. "Yeah, we don't the whole 'gem hierarchy' thing here. You can stand up. But what exactly are you doing at the Barn?"

"She's looking for the Crystal Gems, and I just so happen to be one!"

"Shouldn't the other Crystal Gems sort this out though?"

Peridot and Lapis began to argue, as Emerald just stood there, meekly. "Um...guys, I understand that I may not seem trustworthy, but would mean the world to me if you'd just give me a chance though."

"Yeah, uh, Peridot? We should take her to Steven's."

* * *

It took some convincing, but Emerald was allowed to stay in the barn with Peridot & Lapis, although Emerald seemed quite fascinated with Steven the most.

"So you're the first boy gem?" Emerald was sitting on the couch with Steven, while the rest of the gems debated about her staying in Beach City on Earth.

"I guess so, yeah. But I'm only half gem, so that's probably why."

"That must be so cool though, are you happy?"

"I'm just happy I get to be myself. It can be hard though, because there's this pressure that I have to finish what my mom started. The Crystal Gems tell me I don't have to be like her though."

"I get having to be like someone you're not."

"What do you mean-?"

"Steven, why don't you take Emerald around Beach City for a bit?" Pearl asked. "We need to figure out more details surrounding this...situation."

"Sure. Emerald, I can take you to the Big Donut! Let's go!"

"Uh, okay." Emerald blushed, then her eyes got wide as she gasped softly, "Wait, isn't there a...bathroom? That place Peridot was talking about?"

"Um, yeah. It's over here." Steven lead Emerald to the bathroom.

When she walked in, she saw herself in the mirror, and teared up a bit. Looking down at the gem on her chest, she found a razor on the counter and pressed down hard on her gem, nicking a tiny piece off. Though it was barely noticeable, it hurt tremendously to nick it off in the first place. Emerald then, took her hair out of it's bun, and let her shoulder length hair fall down freely. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she took a deep breath and stood up straight. "I'm Emerald. That's my gem, that's my destiny, that's who I am suppose to be."


	2. Chapter 2

The Big Donut was a strange place to Emerald, considering that eating in general was a weird concept to gems in the first place.

"Sadie!"

"Oh hey Steven. What can I get for you today?"

"I'll have three glazed donuts," Steven turned towards Emerald, "Amethyst always wants a couple too."

"Sure thing, and who's this?"

"This is Emerald, she's staying with us for a while because she doesn't want to live on Homeworld anymore." With Steven's introduction, shivers were sent down Emerald's spine at those words, but she said hello anyway.

"Hey,"

"Sadie, where's Lars?"

"Where I always am, in the back." Lars emerged, wearing his usual work attire, but Emerald noticed something else. Faint outlines of something halfway down his chest, and wide straps on his shoulders, but mostly hidden by his shirt. Emerald relaxed, knowing someone may understand her. "Who's the new gem friend?"

"I'm Emerald, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Woah dude, I'm just being nice, no need to make a move."

Emerald blushed and smiled a bit. "Sorry, I was just being kind. It's nice to know I'm not the only one here."

Now the group was confused, as Steven got his donuts in perfect timing. "Well, um, thanks for the donuts. I'll see you two tomorrow!"

"Lars seems cool, I'd love to get to know him better sometime."

"Oh! Do you have a crush!"

"No, not on him. I just think we may have more in common than we think."

"Well, you can come back with me to the Big Donut tomorrow if you want. I don't mind, you're really cool, Emerald."

"Thanks Steven."

* * *

When the two arrived back at the house, everyone was just chilling now. Garnet was in her room, Pearl was folding Laundry, and Amethyst was trying to teach Peridot to shapeshift, while Lapis watched.

"Amethyst, I brought you back a couple donuts!"

"Oh, yum!" Amethyst, who currently looked like Purple Puma, inhaled the donuts, as Emerald stood, wide-eyed. "Oh yeah, I know gems don't have to eat, but I love it! You should try it sometime kiddo."

"Oh, it's not that. It's just...your body. You can do that?"

"Well sure. All…" Amethyst glanced over at Peridot. "Most gems can do that."

"You just can't do it for very long," Steven chimed in. "I tried stretching myself out for my birthday one time, and I stayed that way for so long, I shrunk back to baby size."

"Dang, that's crazy. What's your favorite thing to be?"

Amethyst, who was now back to herself, became Steven. "I love messing around with the gems and being Purple Puma and all… but I love being myself the most. There's no one else I'd rather be at the end of the day."

I wish I felt that way too. Emerald thought to herself.

Steven scratched his head for a moment. "I'm not really good at shapeshifting, besides the whole 'cat fingers' thing, but I like fusing with Connie. That's fun, and I love being Stevonnie, that's our fusion name."

"I think I'm going to try a few different things, but I want it to be a surprise if I find something I like."

"Alrighty, we'll be here." Amethyst kicked back on the couch and yawned.

Emerald went back to the bathroom and shapeshifted into a few different 'characters'. She fell in love with one of them, but then remembered what Steven had said. It couldn't last forever, it was too dangerous. She nicked another piece of her gem, as she told herself, "It's not meant to be, you have to be this way. You're who everyone wants you to be."


	3. Chapter 3

"Uh, Peridot? Were you wearing a bowtie yesterday?" Emerald was helping Peridot and Pumpkin water the crops by the barn. Emerald was very intrigued by how the whole "farming" thing worked.

"No, it's Steven's. He just doesn't know that I have it."

"Wait, so gems can wear human things if they want to?"

"Well yeah! That's why I've got Steven's boxers on too," Peridot smiled and blushed a little, "They make me happy."

Lapis approached the crew, carrying something in her hand, but Emerald couldn't quite tell what it was. "I saw you checking this out last night, you can wear it if you want. It's just been taking up space in the barn since we had that baseball game a while back with all the gems." Lapis tossed the objective to Emerald, who beamed with delight when she realized what it was.

"A hat! Oh Lapis, I love it, thank you!" Emerald went to hug Lapis, but her water wings pushed her away before she could.

"I don't really do hugs. But you're welcome."

Emerald put on her hat, and immediately felt something inside of her shift. It wasn't perfect, but it was a start. She was happy, and that's what mattered for the moment.

"Hey Em, aren't you supposed to hang out with Steven again today?"

Em… A shortened version of Emerald, a nickname of shorts. It was nice, Emerald had never been called that before, she was always referred to by her gem name instead. This...this was different. It wasn't her name, which everyone had expectations for. It was just two letters, describing who she was. It was something small, but it seemed as if the little things were adding up today in Em's book.

"Yea-yes! Yes, I am. I should probably get going. Have a great day Peridot, and you too Lapis."

* * *

"So Emerald, are you going to try a donut today?"  
"Maybe… I just really wanted to spend time with your friends, that's all."

"You'll have to meet Connie sometime, and Stevonnie! They're awesome!"

"They?"

"Since Connie's a girl and I'm a boy, Stevonnie's...Stevonnie's both. So we aren't a 'he' or a 'she' when we're fused."

"You can do that?"

"Well sure ya can! It's just called being yourself."

Steven was easy to talk to. He was just so happy and accepting, and Emerald was learning a lot from him. _Maybe I should tell him, he'll know what to do…_

The bell above the door rang, as the two entered the Big Donut. Lars and Sadie were both at the counter, watching Sour Cream's snapchat videos from The Cool Kids' rave last night.

"Sadie! Lars! You're both here today, and Emerald's here… And we're all together!" Steven smiled. He just got so happy being himself and being with people who cared about him. Emerald was happy for him, but also jealous too.

"Hey Steven, did you see Sour Cream's story from last night?" Sadie showed Steven her phone, as Emerald was amazed by the loud music and colors being projected on the small screen.

The bell rang again, and four shot there heads up to see who was coming in. They were shocked to find Lars' mom here during the work day.

"Hi Mrs. Barriga! This is Emerald."

"Hi Steven, nice to meet you Emerald."

"Mom?! What are you doing here?"

"Laramie-" Lars' eyes grew wide at the name coming out of his mother's mouth, as he blushed and seemed angry. "Lars, I thought I'd surprise my wonderful only child and come get some donuts for my coworkers on my lunch break."

Laramie...only child… Lars' mom didn't say son...but she didn't say daughter either. Why did Lars get so upset? Emerald didn't even have to ask, she knew why.

"Mooom, you said you weren't gonna call me that anymore. Especially not in _public_." Lars bobbed his head towards Sadie.

"I'm sorry, I'm trying. It's just out of habit. I'm working on it, I really have been."

Lars shut down, as Lars often does, according to Steven. "Whatever, how many donuts do you want?"

"Maybe just ten or so. I don't really want leftovers in the breakroom."

"Okay, I'll go get them,"

Sadie called after him, "Lars, the donuts are up front!"  
"I know where they are!"

There was an awkward silence, then Emerald chimed in, "I'll go talk to him." She then followed Lars into the back before anyone could say anything. Lars was sitting in the break room with his feet up on the table, listen to music in headphones.

"Lars?...Lars!" Lars was startled by this and almost fell out of his seat.

"What Gem?!"

"I...I just wanted to see if you were okay. I could tell you were upset."

"Yeah, well it's none of your business."

"Actually, it might be."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Um...nevermind." Emerald sat down at the table next to Lars. "Is Lars really your name?"

"Yeah, I mean, it is to me. My mom just doesn't seem to think so. Same goes for my dad...but they're trying."

"So you can change your name if you want to?"

"I guess you can say that, yeah. Why?"

"I was just curious, I've been thinking about a lot of things lately. Earth sure is different than Homeworld."

"So I've heard… Any other extremely personal questions you wanna ask me?"

"Uh, no?"

"Okay, then I've got some donuts to deliver to my mother."

* * *

Sitting on the couch at Steven's after her Big Donut adventure, Emerald was captivated by Pearl. She was so beautiful, and so swift with her movements. Everything about her made Emerald happy, so she decided to talk to her.

"Um, hey Pearl? I think you're very swift."

"Well, I've been fighting rebels for thousands of years, so I sure hope my moves aren't stiff."

"Oh...yeah… I also think you're very pretty."

"Listen, if you're trying to weasel your way into Steven's life through me, it's not going to work. He may trust you, but after what happened with Bismuth & Navy Ruby, I can't do that again."

"Maybe it's best if I just go back to the barn."  
"Maybe it is." Pearl went into her room in the temple, as Emerald sat on the couch for a moment longer, stunned. She then went into the bathroom and nicked her gem a few times, cursing under her breath as she did it.

"All you are is an evil Homeworld Emerald, you'll never gain their trust and they'll never accept you. But why should they?"


	4. Chapter 4

Emerald fell asleep that night in a stack of hay in the barn, still wearing her baseball hat. It was the only thing keeping her sane anymore. All she could think about were the feelings that were taunting her. Why didn't she like herself? Why didn't the gems seem to like her? Why did she like Pearl so much? How did Lars get to be himself?

That night, she heard a banging on the barn door, and was surprised that Peridot and Lapis didn't hear it. When she went to see who it was, Emerald was both shocked and terrified to find out who it was.

"Topaz?!" She whispered, seeing the fusion of two Topaz's standing before her. Emerald knew her however, because Topaz worked for Yellow Diamond… just as Emerald had all her life before fleeing to Earth. "What are you doing here?"

"You think Yellow Diamond didn't know you snuck off Homeworld? Of course she figured it out, so she sent me to get you. I've been following you around this place."

"Topaz, I can't go back there, you know I can't I-,"

"I know, I know." Topaz bent down on one knee and put a hand on Emerald's shoulder. "I'm actually the one who offered to go after you when Yellow Diamond was deciding who should come to Earth. I couldn't let you be here alone. Especially with what's been going on with you, I know something's up."

Emerald crossed her arms and refused to make eye-contact with Topaz. "Yea-yeah...but I don't want to talk about it right now."

"That's okay too, I'll be here if you want to. I'm not going anywhere. Come here." Topaz spread her arms wide and Emerald stepped closer to the gem, being wrapped up in a hug in the process.

Topaz and Emerald had always worked side by side together. Though she'd never admit it, Topaz always wanted to add a third gem to her fusion...that gem being Emerald. Sure, Emerald was shy and quiet, often stuttering on her words a bit. But once you got to know her, you could see her big heart and just how kind Emerald was, and Topaz would do anything for her. Even if that meant leaving Homeworld and never coming back.

Emerald fell asleep in Topaz's arms, as Topaz protected her through the night. She sat outside of the barn, wondering what lead Emerald to leaving Homeworld and shutting her out in the process.

* * *

Emerald woke up out the blue with a start, all she heard was yelling.

"First Emerald and now you too?! How many more of you Homeworld clads are going to invade Beach City?"

"Well last I checked, you're also from Homeworld, Peridot. A technician for Yellow Diamond to be exact."

"Grrrrr, well you know what? I'm sure us Crystal Gems won't appreciate everyone all of a sudden fleeing to our home!"

"STOP!" Emerald yelled at Topaz and Peridot, her hands pushed out in front of her. Peridot and Topaz stood there, shocked to hear Emerald raise her voice at them. "Peridot, I'm sorry I'm invading the barn, and I'm sorry if Topaz and I are taking up too much space here. No offence Top," Looking over at her friend with a forgiving facial expression, "We can find somewhere else to go if that's what's best."

"Please don't go." Now Lapis was intervening. "This isn't fair Peridot. We're both from Homeworld and the Crystal Gems accepted us. After everything that happened with me and Jasper…" Lapis paused, thinking about the painful memories flooding back, "I felt like a traitor to the gems and I didn't even feel like my own person anymore. I was weak and tired and didn't want to go on. This has given me my new start, can't you see that's what Emerald's just trying to do too?"

"Ughhhh, you gems and your feelings...but I guess you're right." Peridot turned to Topaz and Emerald. "I'm really sorry you two. I still do think we need to talk to Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl about this, but I'll be on your side," Peridot looked over at Lapis, then back at Topaz and Emerald, "We'll both be."

"Thank you Peridot, we'll try not to cause too much trouble." Topaz gave Peridot a thumbs up. "I'm sorry that you had to suffer with Jasper for so long, Lapis. If you ever want to talk about it, I'll listen."

"Thank you Topaz. I'm just trying to forget about it and move on."

"Fair enough. Emerald, what do you say you show me around this Beach City place?"

"Sure, just give me a second. I need to go grab something first."

Emerald ran into the barn and found what she was looking for almost instantly. It was a mirror, with a hole in the back in the shape of a teardrop. The front of the mirror was what Emerald was most concerned with though, for the glass was shattered into small pieces. Emerald found the mirror the night before and knew it'd be perfect, she needed something she could keep with her in case she needed it. Emerald took a piece of the glass out of the mirror and cut her gem a bit more. "You're just taking up space, I knew they wouldn't want you." She whispered, before putting the glass shard in her pocket.

Emerald came back outside and smiled at Topaz. "Alright, ready to see our new home?"


	5. Chapter 5

Emerald showed Topaz around Beach City, and the two began to catch up too. Emerald talked about all she's learned on the few days she'd been on Earth, while Topaz informed her on the missioned she'd been sent on since her and Emerald got split up a while back.

"So how did you even get to Earth all by yourself?"

"I kind of snuck into a Ruby pod and crash landed here. I'd been trying to learn the route and how to drive the ship for a while. Considering I made it, I guess you could say in the end I was successful."

"How'd you know so much about Earth already?"

"How _didn't_ you? It's all the gems talked about who would come back from trips to Earth. It was just done in secret, and you had to know the right gems to get any information. Some of them weren't so forthcoming about giving away information, in fear that the diamonds would find out."

"Yeah, I can understand that." Topaz had greatly missed Emerald. They used to work side-by-side hundreds of years ago, before Topaz had been relocated to where her strengths would be more useful. Rumor had it she was going to be assigned on a mission with Blue Diamond's Aquamarine, and she wanted no part in that either, which pushed Topaz even more into volunteering to go to Earth.

"We're here! First stop, Topaz, welcome to the Big Donut." Emerald opened the door, quickly realizing that Topaz was too tall. Even if she were to defuse, neither Topaz would fit through the doorframe. Emerald smiled awkwardly. "Oops, I hadn't thought of this. How about I get you something. We can eat out here!"

"Fine by me, I'll wait here."

As Emerald entered the building, she felt something was off about her, and not the usual thoughts circling her head. No, this was something else. Her gem was probably reacting to the chipping. She felt like she was at a loss for words, like she couldn't remember why she had come in here.

"Oh, hey Emerald." Lars emerged from the back, and Emerald was still trying to figure out why she was in here, so she didn't say anything. "Sadie's not here today, guess she's got the flu, but I'm glad you swung by. I wanted to talk to about the other day." Emerald simply nodded and smiled slightly, trying to get words to come out of her mouth, but nothing was working.

"Look, I know I was kinda distant to you, and I'm sorry for that. Humans don't really ask personal questions like that, so I didn't know what to do. I can tell you're probably going through some stuff, more than just getting used to Earth though. So I figured I'd explain it." Lars lifted his shirt up a bit, revealing a half tank-top thing, but it looked a bit thicker than that. "So this is my binder. Because… I was born Laramie Barriga...a girl. No one really knows, just my parents. Everyone else thinks that Laramie was just a dumb boy name, that's what I want them to think." Lars put his shirt back down, then blushed and looked around a bit. "I don't really know how being a gem works, so i don't know exactly what you're going through, but if you have any questions I-"

"You're so brave." Emerald blurted it out, not even realizing the words were coming out of mouth, until it was too late.

"Oh. Um, thank you. You are too Emerald…" Lars scratched the back of his neck for a moment. "You know, you don't have to be something you're not. Guy, girl, in between. You can be yourself if you want."

"I know. Thank you Lars." Emerald gave Lars a hug, then walked out the door, not really knowing what to do.

"So what'd ya get Em-"

"I have to go. I'm sorry Topaz." Emerald started fidgeting with her hands. "I'll be back though, I promise." She kissed Topaz's hand, then ran off to Steven's.


	6. Chapter 6

As Emerald walked through the door to Steven's house, she couldn't think of why she was there...or where she had just come from. Her physical form wasn't wanting cooperate, she she sat herself on the couch before she potentially collapsed on the floor.

The Crystal Gems warped back into the Temple just as Emerald sat down on the couch.

"Hey Emerald! I'm glad you're here, I wanted to show you something." Amethyst said, as she downed a few hot dogs that were in the fridge. She then transformed into the police officer that she used to prank Steven with once. "Look! I'm a cop. Freeze!" She then stuck out her water gun and sprayed Emerald. The cold water and her chipped gem couldn't take it, so she winced in pain. "Haha, that's a good one. Pretending to be in pain. Nice touch."

"So do you like changing who you are a bunch?" Trying to take the attention off of her pain, Emerald quickly changed the subject.

"I mean, I don't think you should be pressured to be a certain way. So I don't care about what or _who_ exactly I look like what I shapeshift. It's all for fun." Amethyst then put on a video of… Steven? It was Steven wearing makeup and a skirt singing on a stage.

"It's my video from Beach-A-Palooza!" Steven ran over to Amethyst and got so excited.

"Why are you wearing that?" Now Emerald was confused again.

"Because I wanted to. Plus, it was fun!"

Amethyst and Steven began to dance around, goofing off in the process. "Come join us Emerald!"

Emerald had regained her strength and feeling in her physical form, so she decided to join in for the moment. She let herself be totally loose and comfortable, dancing with Amethyst, getting pretty close to her.

Before the two knew what was happening, Amethyst and Emerald had fused. It didn't last long though.

"Ahhh!" The new fusion exclaimed. "What are we? _Who_ are we?"

"Um… I guess we're Apatite." Her long silver hair flowed down her, while her crop top opened up, revealing her two gems on her chest.

All of a sudden, Apatite screamed, and they defused. Amethyst sat on the floor catching her breath. "You're _what_?! And...and your gem!"

"Amethyst, what's wrong?" Steven looked concerned, as Garnet and Pearl emerged from their rooms.

Amethyst looked at Emerald, then back at Steven, standing up. "Nothing. It's nothing. Just new fusion jitters, that's all. Heh- right Emerald?"

"Yep, right." Emerald blushed, feeling anxious having caused a commotion.

"Oh, Emerald." Pearl blushed a bit. "I'm so glad you're here. I actually wanted to talk to you about what happened yesterday." Pearl sat down on the couch with Emerald. "I'm sorry I overreacted. Things have been very stressful and it's just hard to trust new gems after that Ruby stole her ship back. Plus...Steven's all we've got left of…" Pearl started tearing up. "Well, he's very important to me, to all of us. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you, and I'm very sorry."

"It's okay Pearl. I forgive-," Emerald's fell backwards on the couch, as her limbs turned into spaghetti, they very long and thin all of a sudden.

"Emerald, what's happening?! What's wrong?" Pearl gasped and jumped off the couch.

"No-nothing. I'm fine."

"Emerald, your gem, you're hurt." Steven showed Pearl, Emerald's chipped gem.

Pearl inspected it, coming to a very upsetting conclusion. "This was no accident. Emerald, did you do this?"

Tears filled Emerald's eyes, as she barely even whimpered, "Yes."

"What? Why?"

Amethyst spoke up. "When we fused, I could feel Emerald's chipped gem. I also felt something else… This isn't who Emerald really is."

"What does that mean?" Pearl looked to Amethyst for an answer, but she didn't want to be the one to spill the beans, so she gestured towards Emerald.

Emerald's sight and hearing was going in and out, but she was able to somehow reach into her pocket and hold onto the glass shard. "Imma...Imma guy."

"That's-that's impossible. Gems aren't really guys."

"Pearl, I'm a boy, why can't Emerald be one too?"

"That's different, Steven. Emerald, you can't just be a different gem-"

"-That's not what I'm saying."

Garnet put a hand on Pearl's shoulder. "It's just something new, it's okay."

" _Okay_?! Garnet, she's was made to be an Emerald gem that was like all of the other gems like her."

"Guys!" Steven yelled. "Emerald's gem, how do we fix it?"

"We don't." Emerald spoke quite calmly. "I can't do this. Homeworld wouldn't have wanted me this way, Earth doesn't seem to want me this way. I can't take it. I'm done." She whipped out the glass shard, and with her spaghetti arm, continued to dig into her gem.

"Emerald!" The gems tried to reach out and stop her, but it was too late. Emerald pierced a hole right through the center of her gem...and it shattered into tiny pieces.

The Crystal Gems stood around, not knowing what to do. Steven meanwhile, fell onto the floor, gathering all of the shards into his hands. "I can fix this, I can fix it!" He began furiously licking the gem bits, hoping they all stick back together.

Garnet knelt down with him, as Amethyst just held each other and cried. "Steven, I don't think that's going to work."

"It has to Garnet. She was so nice, she hurt herself because she was hurting. I liked her though, we all did. Things have just been hard, for all of us. Emerald deserves another chance though. Everybody deserves second chances."

The shards began to glisten, as they stuck together a bit. They didn't perfect heal, but they weren't in pieces either. "What's happening? Garnet, what do we do?"

"This has never happened before. Once a gem is shattered, it's gone. It might be trying to heal itself though… I say we bubble it for a while so it can heal, then go from there."

Steven bubbled Emerald's gem, and then hugged the gems. He was crying, not knowing what was going to happen to his new friend was awful. She had always belonged, she just couldn't see that.


	7. Chapter 7

Word got around to the barn about what happened to Emerald, and Topaz wasn't taking it well. All of the gems were at the barn to try and figure out what to do about the shattered gem.

"Topaz has always been there for Topaz, but Topaz & Topaz always wanted to be there for Emerald too." She cried. "But now Emerald's not here."

"I'm sure the gems have a plan to fix this." Peridot claimed. She felt bad about yelling earlier and wished she could've apologized. The only problem was that Peridot wasn't very good with apologies...or dealing with emotions and feelings.

"Hey Topaz," Steven stepped forward. "This is for you. Emerald was wearing it when she…" Steven handed Topaz the baseball hat, and Topaz started crying again.

"Thank you Steven."

"How did she shatter anyway? You weren't on a mission or anything?" Lapis stood against the barn, arms crossed. She didn't know what to make of this situation either, quite frankly.

"Emerald was harming her gem. On purpose. It seems as though she had a shard of Lapis' mirror on her, and who knows what else she used to chip her gem." Garnet knew how it felt to not feel completely whole. When Ruby & Sapphire were apart, the two never felt quite right. But to try and crack your own gem?! She couldn't understand why someone would do such a thing, even being in Emerald's position.

Steven gasped. "My razor!"

"Your razor?" Pearl questioned. "But you have nothing to shave."

"I took one from my dad so I could feel manly. I thought if I waited long enough, I'd get facial hair, but then I stopped growing and everything… I kept it just to have a small piece of what growing up would be like. Anyway, I left it on the bathroom counter, and Emerald kept going in there a lot. She was probably using that to cut herself too."

"Wh-why would sh-she d-do that?" Topaz was sobbing. This was all too much for her, and the fusion was quite an emotional one at that.

"Emerald felt like a dude, dude." Amethyst spoke up. She had been unusually quiet. After fusing with a cracked and hurting gem though, she needed time to think.

"That's insane! But I guess I am too." Peridot didn't understand a lot about Earth, and this was just another one of those things that was going to take time to understand.

"If Emerald's gem can be repaired, we need to be there for her, for him, for whoever Emerald turns out to be." Garnet was always the mom of the group, she always knew what to say. It seemed to be the Sapphire in her.

"But Garnet. A gem can't just _change_."

"Pearl, Rose changed. And without her change, we wouldn't have Steven."

Steven blushed, as Pearl & Garnet looked t the half-human half-gem. "Awe. So does that mean Emerald will turn out like me?"

"Probably not. My point is Rose Quartz believed that Gems can take control of their own identities. Emerald is just doing the same thing. We need to support her no matter what."

"How are you going to fix her?" Topaz had calmed down a bit now, and just wanted Emerald back.

"Steven's...saliva, was able to put Emerald's gem back together, but not perfectly. So we bubbled her gem, and then we'll de-bubble it in a bit to give it time to heal. Even then though, we don't know if it'll work. This has never happened before."

"If you need someone to watch over the gem, I can Garnet." Peridot put her hands on her hips and looked professional. "As I Crystal Gem, it would be an honor to watch over a fellow Earth gem… Well, an Earth gem from Homeworld… Like me!"

"That's alright Peridot," Garnet put a hand out towards her. "She'll be safe in the temple, but thank you."

"Amethyst," Pearl spoke up once more. "Are you alright?"

"No man. When we fused, I immediately knew _everything_. I knew her gem was cracked, I knew why… I knew she wasn't like us. To know she was hiding all of that, and to know everything she was going through all at once like that… It's kinda screwed me up… I think I just need some time. I'm gonna go back to the temple and go in my room for a while. I need some space."

"I know how Emerald was feeling." Lapis peeped up. "I was trapped as Malachite, but Emerald was trapped in her own body. I can't imagine feeling like that. I'm just glad I was saved from Jasper, and we'll be here to save Emerald."

"Emerald was my friend." Steven looked down at the ground. "She didn't even get to meet Connie."

"She met the donut guy."

"Who's the donut guy, Topaz?"

"We went to that donut place, and I couldn't fit… So Emerald went inside and was talking to some guy in there."

"Lars! Maybe Lars knows how to help Emerald!"

"Steven." Garnet kneeled down and put a hand on Steven's shoulder. "Emerald's gem might not get better. You understand that, right?"

"Yeah, I know. But we have to try. She's a person, she's a gem. She was hurting, and she didn't deserve that hurt."

"Steven…" Pearl scratched the back of her neck for a moment. "I'm really sorry. I think my overreaction caused this, and I'm really sorry. I want to try to understand this, Garnet's going to help me understand."

"I forgive you, Pearl. All that matters now is being there for Emerald."


	8. Chapter 8

"Lars! Lars!" Steven ran into the Big Donut and Lars got so startled, his box of free napkins went flying all over the place.

" _What?!_ "

"Oh, um… Emerald kinda poofed and I guess she's not a she, but like she didn't tell us until she almost poofed. Anyways, Emerald and you talked a bunch, and I didn't know if there was anything else you might know?"

"Look Steven, it's really none of my business. I don't even really understand all of your 'gem' stuff."

"Please Lars. I want to be there for Emerald, I want to understand."

Lars sighed. "Okay, but you have to _swear_ that you won't say anything to _anyone_."

"I swear on Cookie Cat's life," Steven's eyes got wide for a moment, "He left his family behind!"

"Steven!"  
"Right, sorry."

The two went into the break room, and Lars explained to Steven about being transgender.

"So my binder flattens my breast tissue, so it looks like I'm flat chested. I'm also on T, or testosterone. That's why when Sadie had us trapped on Mask Island, I started freaking out, because I had been off T for a few days. It's also why I don't like people coming to my house, 'cause they'll hear my parents say my birth name or they'll see my girlie baby pictures."

"Lars, I didn't know. Thank you for sharing this with me."

"I don't know how to tell Sadie. I've wanted to, because… I really like her, but I don't know how she'll react."

"Sadie really likes you too, I think she'd accept you, but you need to do what's best for you."

"Yeah, I don't know Steven. I'll think about it. But for now, you should probably go check on your poofy gem friend."

"Hey Lars? When we swapped bodies that one time… I knew. You'll always be my friend no matter what. If every porkchop were perfect we wouldn't have hotdogs."

Lars smiled a bit to himself as Steven left.

* * *

Garnet caught up with Amethyst when she finally came out of her room for some food. "Amethyst, we need to talk."

The two went outside up on the hill, as Amethyst sat quietly and kept to herself.

"Fusion is an experience, and it's the most personal thing gems do. You didn't have a good experience, and things got _too_ personal." Garnet sat down next to Amethyst. "I can tell you're hesitant to fuse again, and I want you to know it's not your fault. Emerald probably didn't even mean to fuse with you either, maybe she did. I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I've never...I've never felt that connected to someone before. Sure fusion is fun and it gives me a chance to be a different person. Almost immediately though, I felt _everything_ she was feeling. I knew everything that she was doing, that she had been through. It was too much and I don't ever want to feel like that again. I don't even feel like I can joke around and stuff, when there are gems out there with real life problems. Being a gem isn't fun, it's work and I should've focused more, I should've known."

"Yes, being a gem is hard work, but you're also allowed to have fun. You're not the only one who's had fun, we've all had fun on this journey together. Emerald's feelings and problems are her _own_ , but as her friends and as Crystal Gems, we can do our best to help her if she regenerates again. Don't let one bad experience keep you from having fun in the future."

"Does that mean we can form Sugilite in the future?"

"Probably not." Garnet replied, looking off into the distance.

"Yeah, it was a long shot." Amethyst looked up at Garnet. "Thanks for understanding, Garnet."


	9. Chapter 9

Steven found Lapis in the barn, curled up in a ball in the corner.

"Lapis?"  
"Go away Steven."

"Lapis, what's wrong?" Steven knelt beside her, as Lapis sat up more, looking back at him.

"I just keep thinking about Malachite. When I was her, I was trapped, but I knew I wasn't me. I was trapped in a body that wasn't _all_ mine. You knew I was in trouble though. We talked and you tried saving me, you _did_ save me. Emerald didn't get that though. She was trapped in her body, a body that was _all_ hers, and she had nobody to talk to. Nobody knew she was hurting. I just can't imagine. I'm hurting for Emerald… but I'm also hurting for myself."

"Lapis, I'll always be here for you, and I'm sure once Emerald gets better, you can talk to her about it. She'll understand… you'll understand each other."

"That must be how Peridot kinda feels. Without her limb enhancers, she's not 100% herself either. I'm glad she's nicer and everything, but she told me what happened when she tried fusing with Garnet. Peridot wore paint cans as stilts, but she tripped. She tried being herself, but it wasn't the same."

"I guess we all have things that make us who we are… and without them, a part of us is lost."

"I really want things to work out for all of us."

"Yeah, me too. Garnet said we could maybe de-bubble Emerald soon, she thinks she'll maybe be okay!"

Lapis smiled, "That's good."

"I know, I wanna go see her," Steven got up to leave, but Lapis placed a hand on him.

"Steven… will you stay with me?"

Steven nodded, as the two curled up and fell asleep next to each other.


	10. Chapter 10

Steven woke up and felt… different. He opened his eyes, but felt like someone else was there.

 _Steven… I think we fused._

 _Lapis? Is that you?_

 _Yes it's me, I think we're together right now._

The fusion found Lapis' broken mirror and looked at it.

About as tall as Lapis, but with a curvier figure, the pink skinned, purple curly haired fusion floated above the ground with their pink/blue/purple ombre wings.

"Welcome to Earth, Charoite." They said, then quickly unfused. Lapis then quickly curled back up into a ball, her wings covering her even more.

"Lapis, are you alright? I didn't mean to- We just fell asleep and-,"

"Steven…," Lapis uncurled herself and put a hand on Steven's cheek. "That was the first time… That I was comfortable with it." Her eyes filled with tears as she hugged her friend. "Thank you."

* * *

Opening his eyes… Things weren't right.

 _What happened? Where am I- Wait, where is everybody? They probably left me again._

Running into the bathroom with the urge to cut, the gem was in for a surprise.

"Ahhhhhh! My-my...my body? What happened to it?" The gem's chest was flat with slight muscle to it. He was wearing some green pants and a green long sleeve shirt, with a hole revealing his gem. He had on a green dress shirt too, with light green stars on the shoulders of it. His hair was short, shaggy, and messy now. No more long, tangled, girly messes to deal with.

Garnet suddenly busted down the bathroom door, revealing the other Crystal Gems behind her. "We heard screaming-"

"Emerald?... Emerald, you're okay!" Steven ran in and hugged the other gem.

"I'm not, I'm not Emerald… Not anymore."

"Well I mean yeah, you're a dude, dude." Amethyst responded, and then burped. "Whoops, sorry."

"Who are you _now_?" Garnet already knew though...future vision.

"I'm… I'm Emmett." Emmett stood proudly, holding his ground. He was finally who he wanted to be, and he was happy. "Can we all get out of the bathroom to talk? It's getting kinda crowded in here." They all giggled and made their way to the couch in the living room.

"Emer- Emmett. I'm really sorry. Garnet was right, we talked after you poofed. Rose Quartz was so fascinated with the fact that humans grow, change, and chose what they become, where Gems are pre-destined to be whom they are. You're changing your destiny, and I'm.. I'm trying to understand it." Pearl was a little teary eyed, and so was Emmett.

"It's okay, Pearl. It's a weird thing to deal with, especially for gems." The two hugged it out. "That's why I had to leave Homeworld. If they knew… Well, I would've been shattered. Even on Earth though, I didn't have a name for what I was feeling. I just knew I felt different… that I wasn't myself. I guess you could say I'm trying too."

"Now I've got myself another 'little man' to hang out with." Amethyst messed with Emmett's hair, and he laughed.

"You sure do. Thanks Amethyst."

"For what?"

"Letting me know that it was okay to be myself. You too Steven."

Topaz, Lapis, and Peridot walked through the door, and their faces lit up when they saw Em was okay.

"Emerald! Oh, I'm so happy you're okay." Topaz unfused to fit into the house, and ran to hug their friend.

Emmett started to cry, realizing how much his choices hurt those around him. "Um, Topaz? I actually would prefer to go by Emmett now… I'm a guy."

The Topazs smiled. "Really? Okay, Emmett it is. We're just glad you're okay."

"Do you have _any_ idea how worried sick we were?" Peridot threw her arms up in the air. "I couldn't even figure out a Peri-Plan to fix this."

Emmett started playing with his hands. "So you're-you're mad?"

"Quite the contrary, I'm extremely happy to see you well and alright. Put 'er there." Peridot stuck a hand out, and the two shook hands.

Lapis stood in the doorway, quiet. "I'm glad you're happy being yourself, Emmett. I'd love to talk to you more about things if you...if you want."

"Of course Lapis. Besides, I've got lots to catch up on."


	11. Chapter 11

"I'd love to fuse with you again, Steven." Lapis said, as all of the gems hung out by the barn, celebrating Emmett's miraculous recovery.

"Yeah, I don't know Lapis. Us fusing before was kind of an accident. Besides, with everything that happened with you and Jasper… wouldn't you want to take things slow at first?"

Lapis got defensive really quickly. "You don't know what's best for me, no one does!"

"Lapis, Lapis, I'm not saying that. I just… I don't feel the same way. Fusing with Connie… Stevonnie makes me feel whole. Smoky Quartz makes me feel more like a kid again and less like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. Charoite… Well it felt like it was more about you and less about me. I want to help you Lapis, but not like that."

"You're right Steven, I'm sorry. There's really only one gem I want to fuse with anyway…" Lapis trailed off, looking over at Peridot.

* * *

"Hey, uh, Emmett?" Amethyst approached the gem cautiously and skeptically. "I just wanted you to know that I uh…" She looked over at Garnet, who nodded her on in encouragement. "When we fused… I didn't want to, I mean, I wasn't expecting it. I felt everything, I _knew_ everything. I didn't know what to say or do, and it kinda messed me up a bit."

"I'm really sorry Amethyst. I didn't know we'd end up fusing. I didn't mean to hurt you really. _I_ was the one hurting and I'm sorry you got caught in the crossfire."

"It's cool dude, I just wanted you to know… If you wanna talk or anything, let me know. I know how it feels not belonging and knowing you didn't ask for things to happen."

"At least somebody gets it."

* * *

"Hey Peri? Can I talk to you about something?" Lapis found Peridot tending to the fields with Pumpkin by her side.

"Sure! How are you Lapis? Please don't tell me you started rewatching Camp Pining Hearts without me!"

"No, no, I didn't, I would never." Lapis scratched her back to calm her nerves somehow. "It's something important."

Peridot got off the tractor and Pumpkin started running around, as Peridot approached her friend/roommate. "Lapis, what's wrong?"

"I uh… I… I fused… with Steven."

Peridot gasped, "When?"

"Last night. It was an accident. Steven came over and found me having an episode thinking about Jasper.

"An episode?"

"I was thinking about how Emmett felt trapped, so then it reminded of me of when I felt trapped in Malachite. I started thinking about it and feeling trapped all over again. I was curled into a ball and crying… and Steven helped me through it. He spent the night in the barn because I didn't want to be alone, and the next morning when we woke up, we had fused. Charoite was their name."

Peridot's eyes were wide. "Wow… Lapis, that's great! You fused again!"

"No!" Lapis shot water up in the air, scaring Pumpkin and soaking Lapis as the water felt back down. "I'm sorry, Peri. I mean, um… I didn't want to fuse, and Steven didn't even like it. It made me felt powerful and in control, but we didn't fuse for the right reasons. I just wanted you to know that I fused again… I just don't know how exactly to feel about it right now."

"Lapis," Peridot took Lapis' hand in hers and squeezed it tight. "Thank you for telling me." She then hugged Lapis, as Lapis swept her off her feet, since Peridot was usually a little too short for their hugs. "I'm so proud of you for at least trying."


	12. Chapter 12

A few days later, the gems were all hanging out while Greg helped cook up some food to celebrate Emmett's new identity, though the person of the hour was missing.

"Have you guys seen Emmett?" Steven asked as he stood by Lion. "I wanted to give him the last Cookie Cat I have, but I can't find him."

"Steven, you should save it, they don't make them anymore and they're your favorite," Pearl knelt down beside him.

"I know, but they make me happy. And I just want them to make Emmett happy too."

The Topaz fusion overheard the conversation and came over. "Emmett is missing? Topaz will find him for you Steven!" As the fusion ran, the ground shook from the weight of Topaz2.

"Pearl, do you think Emmett ran away because he doesn't like us anymore?" Steven's eyes filled with tears.

"Of course not Steven. I think Emmett just has a lot to think about now and needs some time to adjust to his new form. Besides Earth takes some getting used to, I can't image adding an entirely different form onto that."

"You're right. Hey, what's Amethyst doing?"

Amethyst was hauling Lapis and Peridot's art out of the barn "Lapis and I decided to make a...what'd you call these again?"

"Meep morps."

"Right, yeah! We're making a meep-morp display to welcome _Emmett_ to Earth!"

"Can I help?" Peridot's voice squeaked.

"Sure thing! Here ya go!" The purple gem gave Peridot what she was holding, but the weight of it made her fall.

"You...you clo-"

"My bad! I didn't realize how heavy that was. Here, let me help." Peridot blushed as Amethyst corrected her mistake.

"Your efforts are much appreciated. I will start organizing all of this as you bring it out here."

"Sounds like you've got yourself a plan!"

* * *

"Emmett! Emmett where'd you go?" Topaz2 walked around the area, as to not startle Emmett away. Just around the corner, she began to hear crying. "Emmett, is that you?" No answer. The fusion turned the corner and found Emmett curled up in a ball behind the barn.

"Emmett, what are you doing here? We're having fun and Topaz & Topaz wanted to play human Earth games with you!"

Emmett stared down at his feet. "I keep thinking about it. I don't want to, but it just keeps happening."

"Thinking about what?"

Emmett slowly lifted one of his hands up, revealing the glass shard that he had used to shatter himself last time.

Topaz2 sat down next to Emmett and held him close. "Emmett, it's okay. Have you done anything yet?"

"Not since that night, but I've been thinking about it. I've held onto this just in case." Emmett sniffled and relaxed in Topaz's arms. "I don't want to, I don't. But I just want to _feel_ again. I want to feel it."

Topaz2 could tell this was bad, but her first goal was to just get the glass out of Emmett's hand. She didn't think he'd do anything, but she'd feel much better once that glass was out of her hand.

"What do you feel right now?" Topaz2 was trying to calm Emmett down and tried to soothe him, as she couldn't imagine what it was like to have such bad thoughts plague _her_ own mind.

"I can feel your hands in my hair… It feels nice."

"That's good, see, that's something."

"I know, but it's not the same."

"What about this." Topaz2 didn't realize if this was considered helping or flirting at this point.

"You're running your hands up and down my arms. On my gem." Well at least it was working, Emmett technically was calming down.

The two sat in silence like that for what felt like forever. Emmett had leaned into Topaz2 and they were just there for each other.

"Here," Emmett sat up slowly and looked at his friend. "I want you to take this," He placed the glass shard in Topaz2's palm. "I know I'm going to keep thinking about it, and as weird as this sounds, I don't wanna throw it away… So if you keep it, it's not gone, but I also don't have it in my possession."

"I'll take care of it. I'll take care of you, Emmett," Topaz2 got a bit tongue-tied looking at him now. "We love you, Emmett."

"I… I don't know what to say. Not in a bad way! It's just weird I guess. You're my closest friend, we've been through almost everything together. You followed me to Earth, you accepted me for who I was & who I am now, you're helping me to not hurt myself anymore," Tears filled Emmett's eyes. "I love you too Topaz."

Emmett and the fusion hugged, as Topaz2 then went in for kiss. Their gems began to glow, but Topaz2 stopped them.

"Wait! Emmett, before we do this, there's something you should know." Topaz2 unfused for a moment, and Emmett was very confused.

"We've been thinking a lot about what you did," The Topaz with her gem on her right ear, 'Rightie Topaz', said.

"And we decided that we want to be unique when we unfuse too," 'Leftie Topaz' chimed in. "So… I'm Daphne."

"And I'm Whit."

The two fused again. "And together, we're just Topaz."

"Well in that case 'just Topaz'," Emmett kissed Topaz again and he was slowly added into their fusion. "Looks like we're Titanite."

* * *

 **Topaz2 = Topaz Squared (The formatting didn't copy right). It's basically when both Topaz's are fused together.**


	13. Chapter 13

The big 'ole non-binary fusion made its way to the party. They looked like Topaz, but their hair resembled Emmett's and they had an extra arm on their right side (similar to how Smoky Quartz has an extra arm on their left side).

"Sorry we're late everybody, just had to deal with some things before we got this party started."

"You guys fused?" Steven asked. "That's so cool!" His eyes lit up like stars and he grinned from ear to ear.

"So uh, what's your name?" Greg still didn't 100% understand fusion, but he was trying his best to be more involved in everything.

"Titanite. We are Titanite."

"Well Titanite, we are glad you're here," Garnet said. She held their hands in hers, though hers were much smaller in comparison. "I'm glad you're happy."

* * *

"Hey uh, Lapis?" Peridot called out to Lapis from the barn. "I want to show you something."

Lapis walked into the barn, there was more room now that the meep morps were outside as party decorations. "Peridot? Peridot, where are you?"

*Clunk* *Clunk* *Clunk* The sound was getting louder and louder and it startled Lapis, until she realized where the noise was coming from.

"Look, Lazuli! I got out my paint can stilts again, so now I'm the same height as you!"

Lapis chuckled a bit. "Awe Peridot, that's so cute!" She walked over to Peridot, as the green gem was stumbling towards her. "Here, let me help you."

Lapis held Peridot's hands as they began to sway back and forth. Peridot giggled, but then realized Lapis was leaning in more towards her. Lapis kissed Peridot as she wrapped her arms around her. Lapis' wings came out and began to lift the two of them up in the air as Peridot was about to have her first time.

It happened so fast, yet everything was still in slow motion. It was beautiful, it was magical, it was... upsetting.

The figure looked like Peridot and Lapis, but also had the same anger and hate as Malachite once had. Peridot saw everything, she _felt_ everything. All of Lapis' hurt and how scared she still was. But what Peridot couldn't have ever predicted was what Lapis thought of her. An image played back in her mind, in Chrysocolla's mind.

 _It was the night that Lapis had come clean about fusing with Steven, but it was after Peridot had gone up to the truck with Pumpkin to watch more Camp Pining Hearts._

 _Lapis was pacing around back and forth outside, out of sight from Peridot. Her inner monologue was as follows:_

' _Okay, so it's pretty apparent that Peridot likes me, but I don't like her back. She betrayed me, she's the enemy. Not only can I not trust her, but I can't trust anyone! They're all out to get me, I can't let the Diamonds find me or else I'll be shattered! I should just go along with all of this though, so Peridot doesn't know I still can't forgive her. That's what I'm gonna have to do if I wanna find out what all she's told the Diamonds since she's been here. As soon as I know everything, I'm out of here. I don't need anyone else, I can figure this out on my own.'_

A tear fell from Chrysocolla's face as the two quickly unfused.

"You used me?! You thought I was still working for the Diamonds?! After going off on Yellow Diamond, you really think I was going to turn my back on you?!" Peridot was screaming, tears streaming down her face. She felt like she couldn't breathe. Her chest hurt, her gem hurt. "I liked you and I-I-I-I _fused_ with you! I fused with you and you _hurt_ me!"

"Peridot I'm-,"

"No. Don't apologize. Just leave. Fly away to where us 'Traitor Gems' can't find you." Peridot ran out of the barn, then came back with one of Lapis' sculptures. "And take your stupid meep-morps with you!"

Lapis used her water powers to hold onto the one sculpture that Peridot had thrown at her, then her wings appeared.

"Lapis! Lapis don't leave, we can fix this!" Steven ran ahead of the others as they wondered what all of the commotion was.

"No Steven, we can't. This damage is irreparable."


	14. Chapter 14

The gems gathered at the barn, trying to figure out what to do.

"How are we going to find Lapis?" Steven cried out, watching her get smaller and smaller in the sky. Amethyst was comforting Peridot, and Greg scratched his head, extremely confused.

"We need to give her time to come back. Emmett has brought up a lot of feelings with Lapis, and she needs time to process."

"But Garnet, what if she flies back to Homeworld and reveals all of our secrets? This could be very bad." Pearl panicked a little… okay, she panicked a lot.

"She's not flying to Homeworld because we're gonna find her." Titanite stepped up to the plate and then unfused to just Emmett & Topaz.

"Lapis helped me figure out some intense stuff, and I want to help her. Topaz and I will go looking for her, we'll find her."

"Are you sure, guys?" Steven took a step forward towards his new friends. "I know you're still going through a lot, and if it's too much, the gems and I will-,"

"Steven," Emmett put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll be okay… _I'll_ be okay." He looked up at Topaz and smiled.

"Before you go, I wanted to give you this," Steven handed Emmett the Cookie Cat. "This is Cookie Cat. Cookie Cats make me happy, so I figured it might make you happy… It's an ice cream sandwich," He added in.

"Thank you, Steven. I'll eat it on our adventure. We'll be back soon!" Emmett and Topaz fused back into Titanite and started heading off into the distance. They waved goodbye to their pals and set off to find Lapis.

* * *

 _Author's Note: Sorry for such a short chapter. I'm trying to get back into writing my fics again, so let me know if you want me to continue this story!_


	15. Chapter 15

Titanite began their journey to find Lapis while the fusion began to talk amongst themselves.

" _Are you happy now?" Topaz asked Emmett._

" _I mean, I think so? I'm better than I've ever been, but that doesn't stop life's problems from getting in the way."_

" _I understand. I think we're happy too. We're happy as a fusion, and you're happy as Emmett."_

" _Exactly."_

"Lapis! Lapis, where did you go?" Titanite yelled as they got farther and farther away from Beach City. "Lapis! We need to talk! We have more in common than you think!"

Titanite thought about life on Earth, how there were so many possibilities, yet, the planet still had problems just like Homeworld. Emmett had dealt with his self-identity issues and hurting his own gem, and Topaz wanted to be seen for more than just her fusion, but she also loved being together.

From what Emmett had gathered, Lapis had been through a lot, and she was deeply hurting. Emmett wanted to help in any way that he could. Even just Lapis' the small gesture of giving Emmett her hat had helped Emmett become more secure in who he was, and he wanted to make sure Lapis was able to be herself too.

Off in the distance, a faint, blue wing was spotted in the distance. "Lapis!" Titanite screamed and started sprinting towards Lapis Lazuli, flying the sky. "Lapis, please talk to me!" Titanite unfused as tears fell from Emmett's eyes and he fell to his knees.

Emmett wasn't only crying for Lapis, but he was crying for himself. He cried for the gems that couldn't be themselves, he cried for the gem he used to be. He cried because the past few days had been so much, that he hadn't even taken time to process all of it. Topaz sat with him, rubbing his back while he just simply, cried.

* * *

Slowly but surely, he felt a new pair of feet touch the grass nearby. He felt a small hand touch his back. Emmett looked up, and there she was. Tears in her eyes, Emmett stood up and then just hugged each other, letting out their emotions.

"Thank you for coming. I didn't think anyone would follow after me," Lapis said quietly, still buried in Emmett's shoulder.

"Of course we came. I'm not going to leave anyone behind. Plus, you're important to me." They finally let go of each other and Lapis, Emmett, and Topaz sat in a circle together. "What's your story, Lapis? I'll listen."


End file.
